[SOLVED] Can't copy, zip, upload or ffmpeg a video file

PlanK69

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Jan 12, 2014
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Hiya peeps.

So, I record gameplay videos with OBS in .mkv format. And 99.9% of all my recordings have been without problems but in the past week I've had 2 recordings that have had the exact same issue.

When I try to copy the .mkv file to the same drive (different folder) or to a different drive, I get a "reading from source" error (and yet, ALL my other files on the harddrive work 100% and can be copied/moved).

When I try to .zip or .rar the file, I get an error.

When I try to upload the .mkv file to youtube, it goes to 9% and then gets stuck.

When I play the file in VLC, it gets stuck at 9% but then jumps forward 5secs and continues to play (once again, suggesting there's an error at 9%)

When I try to segment the .mkv file with ffmpeg by creating a part1 & part2 .mkv file (by cutting AROUND the 9% timestamp), then the part1 file succeeds with ffmpeg, but the part2 file doesn't even start.

I've run a chkdsk on the harddrive as well as a defragment, and both returned no issues.

So far, the ONLY way I've found that I can actually use these 2 recordings, is by remuxing the entire video file in Handbrake to a different format... but I would really like a different solution.

Any suggestions would be super appreciated.
 
Solution
Try to recover the bad files to another destination using the free version of DMDE.

https://dmde.com/

Select the physical drive, open the NTFS volume, expand the $Root, navigate to your file, then r-click and Recover the file. DMDE should ignore the read errors and continue copying. Any bad sectors will be filled with " BAD". You can see this when you view the file in a hex editor (eg HxD freeware). HxD has a text/hex search function.

https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

You can tune DMDE's handling of bad sectors by selecting Options -> I/O Parameters.

I would also retrieve a SMART report from the drive using a tools such as CrystalDiskInfo (DMDE can do this, too). Look for reallocated, pending or uncorrectable sectors.
the storage is a 4TB seagate HDD.

the setings was just the regular 'right click on drive > tools > check disk for errors'. I didn't use CMD for it. If you've got a chkdsk command that you'd suggest I run, then by all means
 
Try to recover the bad files to another destination using the free version of DMDE.

https://dmde.com/

Select the physical drive, open the NTFS volume, expand the $Root, navigate to your file, then r-click and Recover the file. DMDE should ignore the read errors and continue copying. Any bad sectors will be filled with " BAD". You can see this when you view the file in a hex editor (eg HxD freeware). HxD has a text/hex search function.

https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

You can tune DMDE's handling of bad sectors by selecting Options -> I/O Parameters.

I would also retrieve a SMART report from the drive using a tools such as CrystalDiskInfo (DMDE can do this, too). Look for reallocated, pending or uncorrectable sectors.
 
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Solution
OK, so according to CrystalDiskInfo, the drive has some errors.. see pic.. I assume there's nothing I can do about it? View: https://i.imgur.com/y7NdlqD.jpg


And then when I tried to recover the file with DMDE, it said "WinError 23: Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)" (several hundred times)... and wouldn't you know it? DMDE got the errors at exactly 9% during the file (exactly the same place where the upload got stuck on Youtube).

DMDE is still right now trying to move the file from one place to another, so I'll see if the file is usable afterwards or if I can atleast upload it (though it's going to have missing sectors in it still obviously). Doesn't really solve my root problem, but I'll let DMDE run overnight and reply back when it's finished and what the upload results are.
 
well, i used DMDE to copy the file, as you said, and it DID take about 1hour, but it finished and the resulting .mkv file obviously stutters here and there due to the missing segments, but it's not bad, and so I uploaded it to Youtube and it didn't stop at 9% this time (or at all). so, yeah... DMDE works in the fact that at least it allows me to get SOME use out of the file, but it doesn't fix it unfortuantely (glass half full situation). but yah, i'll make sure the drive doesn't have anything really important on it, and will replace it when I can.
 
meh. the file plays perfectly, except at 9% where it stutters & tears for about 5seconds, then it's fine again after that. so honestly it's not even worth it. im just happy that DMDE was atleast able to 'cut out' those bad sectors so that the file can be usable.